Cloth drying



(No M6481.)

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. B. H. SOHOPIBLD. CLOTH DRYING, TENTERING, AND TRIMMING MACHINE.

No. 494,492. Patentfed'lvrar. 28, 1893.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

E. H. SCHOPIBLD. i GLO-THDRYING, TENTBRING, AND TRIMMI-NG MACHINE. No. 494,492.

mill

Nrra Tatras ATENT erica.

EUGENE H. SCHOFIELD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO OREN DUNHAM, OF LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN.

CLOTH DRYING, TENTE'RING, AND TRIMMING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letterslatent No. 494,492, dated March 28, 1893. Appliecation filed October 27, 1890. Serial No. 369,420. (No model.)

To @ZZ whoml it may concern: carrying and stretching apparatus, showing Beit known thatI, EUGENE H. SGHOFIELD,`a the trimmer in front elevation, and Figs. S citizen of the United States, and a resident of and 9, an enlarged detail section and elevathe city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and tion respectively of the pinioning wheel. 5 State of Illinois, have invented certain new Similar letters of reference indicate the and useful Improvements in Cloth Drying, Same parts in the several iigures of the draw- Tentering, and Trimming Machines, of which ings. the following is a specification. The size applying apparatus may be of any This invention relates to improvements inv suitable form, but I prefer to employ the one 6o 1o machines for drying, tentering and trimming herein shown which, however, forms no part shade cloth and similar fabrics, as it leaves of the claims of this application. It consists the sizing apparatus and has for its prime obof a supporting frame A, of any suitable charjectto provide novel, efficient and economical acier, upon which is mounted a size vat B, means for stretching, drying and trimming contained within a heating vessel C, which I5 the cloth during the continuous travel thereof latter rests upon transverse bars or a suitthrough the machine. able platform D, which is made vertically ad- A further object is to have the feeding, carjustable by means of four lifting screwsE, rying and stretchingdevicesof such character working through the corners thereof, with that the cloth will not only be maintained in their lower ends stepped in sockets F, and 7o 2o proper position during the entire operation, their upper ends provided with beveled gears but the entire surface thereof to the eXtreme G, with which mesh corresponding beveled side edges, will be subjected to the action of gears H, upon a pair ofV cross shafts I, which heat during its passage through the machine, rotate in unison through the intermediary of whereby the cloth will be perfectly dried bea link chain J, working over sprocket-wheels 25 fore being wound upon the storage reel. K, upon one end of each of said shafts, one

A still further object is to trim the punctof the shafts being provided with a hand nred edges of the cloth after it is thoroughly Wheel L, for applying power thereto. Thus dried, but during its continuous travel it will be seen that whenever the hand-wheel through the machine, and to dispose of the is operated in either direction, a correspond- 8o 3o cloth and trimmings upon separate storage ing rotation will be imparted to the screwreels, whereby the continuous operation of shafts E, thus causing the platform D, carrythe machine is made practicable, the capacity ing with it the heating vessel and sizing vat of the machine is greatly increased, and the up or down, as the case may be. efficiency thereof is promoted to the maximum From the frame A, is loosely suspended in 3 5 degree. suitable bearings, a vat roller M, which is de- These objects are attained by the devices signed to dip into the sizing vat, and to be illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in submerged as nearly as possible to a point which: just below its center, to which end the bot- Figure l, represents asectional elevation of tom of the vat is curved, as shown at M, con- 9o 4o a cloth drying and stretching or tentering forming to the periphery of the roller, so that machine embodying my invention, showing as the vat is raised in the manner just deit in connection with a sizing machine, parts scribed, as rapidly as the sizing is used therebeing broken away to more clearly disclose from, the roller may be maintained practithe internal construction thereof; Fig. 2, a cally at all times submerged to the required 45 transverse Vertical section on the line 2, 2, of depth, the curvature of the bottom of the vat Fig. l; Fig. 3, a top plan view of the size vat permitting this action until substantially all and mechanism for operating the same; Figs. of the sizing is used, although in practice it 4 and 5, enlarged detail side and end views is preferred to replenish the vat at intervals respectively of one of the cloth holders; Fig. to avoid the necessity for too great adjustloo 5o 6, a detail view of the strip winding reel; Fig. ment of the vat. It will of course be under- 7, an enlarged detail section through the cloth stood that the vat roller M, while loosely journaled in its bearings and free to rotate is fixed with relation to the movable sizing vat.

To maintain the size in a liquid and heated condition the heating vessel C, is filled to a suitable depth with water which is maintained at the desired temperature by introducing steam therein through the pipe O, which has a sliding connection with the steam supply pipe P, so that the pipe O, may move up and down with the vessel without breaking connection with the main supply pipe, or necessitating the employment of a tiexible connection there-between.

The cloth to be sized is wound upon a reel Q, suitably journaled upon the frame A, and passes over guide-rollers R, and S, down under the vat roller, at which point it is submerged in the size, thence up over another guide roller or rod T, which subserves the further purpose of a scraper to remove the surplus sizing from the cloth, after which the cloth passes out to the drying and stretching apparatus now to be described. This apparatus consists of a long horizontally disposed frame u, having loosely journaled thereon, a pair of sprocket-wheels b, at each end thereof, over which work spocket-chains c, traveling longitudinally of the frame, to each link of which chains is rigidlysecured a cloth holder comprising a block d, in which is arranged a longitudinal series of teeth e, and a guai-df, consisting preferably of a flattened arch of bent wire, the flattened top of which extends parallel with the surface of the block, a little below the points of the teeth, while the ends thereof are driven into the block near its ends. This guard serves to prevent the cloth being forced down upon the teeth beyond the point at which the guards intersect the teeth, thus leaving at all tintes an open space or passage between the under side of the cloth and the tops of the holder blocks and the guide rails f', for the blocks, through Awhich the hot air from the drying apparatus escapes as hereinafter more fully described.

At each side of the machine, and in a line with the teeth of the cloth holders, is arranged a pinioning wheel g, loosely journaled upon a cross-shaft h, and composed of a body portion provided with a peripheral groove t', spanned at regular intervals by a circumferential series of cross-bars j, between which and into the groove, the teeth of the cloth holder project, the cross-bars of the wheels serving to pinion the cloth on to the teeth of the holders as the clot-h is drawn between the wheels and the holders, to which end one of the pair of sprocket wheels b, and preferably those at the delivery end of the machine are drivers for the link chains carrying the holders, being operated by any suitable gearing such as the cog wheel It', on one end of the shaft thereof, meshing with and driven by a smaller cog wheel or pinion Z, mounted upon a cross-shaft m, which is in turn driven by a belt pulley n. Obviously, however, any other suitable driving mechanism may be employed for driving the carrier, and in practice the storage reel 0, for the sized and dried cloth should be run at just sufficient speed to take up the slack in the cloth as fast as delivered by the machine.

The frame u, may be of any suitable character so long as it forms a guide and support for the carrier, that is the sprocket chains and cloth holders secured thereto, and the other operative parts of my machine, and is additionally provided at the central portion thereof, as illustrated in Fig. 2, with a heating compartmentp, containing steam pipes q, or other means of heating, which compartment is closed at the sides only, by the frame of the machine, and is open at both the bottom and top, the sized cloth o', spanning the top of the compartment so that the cold air will enter the compartment from the bottom,and when heated will rise against the extended cloth and be deflected to each side, escaping past the side edges of the cloth, between it and the carrier, as illustrated by the arrows in said gure. It is to this end that the guards for the teeth of the cloth holders are provided, for without such guards the cloth would be pressed down upon the teeth sufficient to make Contact with the holders orthe guide-rail therefor, and thus while the middle portion of the cloth would be dried in passing over the heated compartment, the side edges thereof would not be dried, because the heat could not reach them; but by the employment of these guards for the teeth, leaving the side escapes for the heated air, the full length of the compartment, the heated air has no other point of escape, and is therefore forced naturally into contact with every portion of the surface of the cloth, thus effectually drying the sizing before the cloth has passed beyond the compartment.

It is common in this class of machines to stretch the cloth during the drying operation, by spreading or diverging the guide-rails f', of the carriers toward the delivery end of the machine, and this expedient is taken advantage of in this machine for the same purpose, the cloth holders being forced gradually and slightly apart by the diverging or spreading guide-rails therefor, after the cloth is pinioned thereon by the pinion wheels. After the cloth is thoroughly dried, the punctured edges are trimmed and separated therefrom by means of the trimmers s, comprising a small rotary knife or cutter t, mounted upon a short shaft u, journaled in a suitable bracket c, secured to the side of the frame a, and driven at a high rate of speed by means of a belt and pulley w, or in any other suitable manner. There are two of these trimmers, one at each side of the machine, the cutters of which enter the cloth just inside of theline of teeth on the cloth holders, and being opposed by the guards of the holders, which uphold the cloth against the action of the cutter, serves to trim off the punctured edges ofthe cloth during the contin nous travel of the cloth through the IOO machine, and as rapidly as finished thereby. The finished cloth when trimmed,`is stored upon the reel o, as before described, while the trimmings are wound upon a pair of spools zr, one at each side of the machine, loosely journaled upon a suitable cross-shaft above or below the machine, and preferably composed of two sections as shown in Fig. 6, for convenience in removing the accumulated trimmings, to do which it is only necessary to slide the two sections of the spool endwise on the shaft away from each other. These spools are driven and operated by a friction pulley y, suspended above the spools iu a suitable frame j, so that as `the spools are filled by the trimmings, the pulley will be lifted vertically by the accumulated trimmings, still maintaining frictional contact therewith so as to constantly take up the slack from the trimmings, which are guided to the spools by a guide roller a', the friction pulley being driven by a belt wheel b', at a suitable rate of speed, the belt wheel and friction pulley being both loosely journaled in and carried by the frame z, which may be hinged or otherwise secured to permit of the vertical movement of the friction pulley.

A machine constructed in accordance with my invention embodies numerous advantages, chief among which is the great capacity thereof, the cloth being stretched, dried and trimmed in a most efficient manner, and during the continuous travel thereof from the sizing apparatus through the tentering, drying and trimming machine.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination with the cloth carriers consisting of traveling belts, and a heated compartment located beneath the carriers and adapted to be spanned by the cloth; of means for holding the cloth aloof from said belts so as to form exits for the heated air between the edges of the cloth and the belts, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of cloth carriers consisting of traveling-belts, provided with longitudinal series of teeth and guards arranged between the belt and the points of the teeth, substantially as described.

3. The combination of cloth carriers consisting of belts, provided with longitudinal series of teeth, and guards arranged between said belts and the points of the teeth, and pinioning wheels arranged to register with' each series of teeth, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the cloth carriers, consisting of belts provided with longitudinal series of teeth and guards arranged between said belts and the points of said teeth, of a pinioning wheel registering with each series of teeth and comprising a wheel with a peripheral groove into which the teeth project, and transverse bars circumferentially arranged, spanning said groove, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the cloth carriers ing the teeth between their points and the chains, of a heated compartment located between the carriers and underlying the cloth stitched between the carriers, said compartment being open at the top and bottom thereof, substantially as and for the purpose described.

V7. The combination with the cloth carriers, provided with longitudinal series of teeth, and guards intersecting said teeth between their points and the surface of the carrier, of trimmers provided with rotary cutters entering the cloth adjacent to said guards, sub'- stantially as described.

8. The combination with the cloth carriers andthe trimmers, of a storage reel for the finished cloth, a pair of storage spools for the trimmings, and a pair of vertically movable friction wheels bearing upon and operating said spools, substantially as described.

9. The combination with the cloth carriers, provided with longitudinal series of teeth, and guards intersecting said teeth between their points and the surface of the carrier, and trimmers provided with rotary cutters entering the cloth adjacent to said guards, of a storage reel for the finished cloth, a pair of storage spools for the trimmings, and a pair of vertically movable friction wheels bearing upon and rotating said spools, substantially as described.

l0. The combination with the cloth carriers and the trimmers; of a storage spool forfor operating said spool, substantially as set EUGENE H. SCHOFIELD.

forth.

Witnesses:

R. C. OMoHUNDRo, W. R. OMoHUNDRo.

IIO 

